


Misery's Company (up for adoption!)

by Ravens secret-keeper (StellarSecretKeeper)



Category: Ruby Gloom (Cartoon)
Genre: Fanfiction, Friendship, Friendship galore!, Work Up For Adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18354554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarSecretKeeper/pseuds/Ravens%20secret-keeper
Summary: The perfect rainy day turns out to be a great adventure for a slightly gothic teen when her world collides with the ever-interesting world of Ruby Gloom. It starts as just finding a new friend in the woods, but it isn't long before she gets a full-on tour. (Cross-posted on fanfiction.net under the same name.) UP FOR ADOPTION. Shorthand notes for further plot at the end!





	1. The Story So Far

**Author's Note:**

> It is with a heavy heart and for the sake of lightening burdens that I must confess: I'm officially placing this story up for adoption!
> 
> I thought I should announce, officially, that though the realm of Ruby Gloom has captured my heart, this little yarn has failed to capture my attention since 2009. As we're approaching an entire decade of this tale gathering dust, I thought I would post what I've had written for ten years.
> 
> This story continues to garner attention on fanfic.net, and it was a lot of fun while it lasted! But unfortunately I've been wound and bound by AFK life, and even my most treasured stories aren't getting the attention they deserve. Maybe this little yarn deserves to be woven further, too. It's just going to have to be woven by someone other than me.
> 
> If someone sees something they like in my shorthand notes for future plotpoints and wants to see what they can do with it, let me know via review or PM, and let's see if we can't find this story a loving home. (I will ask for nominal credit, of course!)
> 
> That said: Enjoy what I do have to offer here.

**_Prologue_ **

I sighed contentedly, closing my eyes as I leaned against the slate hill behind me. I felt so at peace here, alone, sitting in that tiny part of the river that had a sleek bed and only an inch of water. Not to mention the honeysuckle bush draping over me like a weeping willow; it was as if I was being separated from the real world and could relax and live in my own. The solitary, perfumed air made it all the more enjoyable – here in the forest, skimpy as it was, you got all the fresh scents of nature in the air, but right in “my spot”, you had the honeysuckles and the river making the air all the more sweet.

Today had just seemed like the perfect day to be here in Big Creek Parkway, since I saw that sky… The moment I looked out my window and saw those beautifully dark and heavy clouds rolling in, I had an urge to go dancing in the rain. The only problem was that whole parental protection thing… My parents would never let me go alone, they never had and probably never would until I moved out… Well, I managed to work my way around that with a little creative planning, and after making one phone call and getting permission to go with Saundra, my friend and her dad came and picked me up… then dropped me off and let me enjoy my alone time. (I had only said we were _going_ together; I never said we’d stay together!)

So now here I was, all alone. I opened my eyes and looked towards the sky, smiling as I saw how full those clouds looked, bidding for rain to come any moment now. All I needed to do to make this day perfect was to wait for the rain to actually come.

And that’s when I heard the scream.

_“Ruby!”_

Okay, so I admit it was more of a call than a scream, but it still startled the heck out of me. I jumped up with a small gasp; that noise came out of _nowhere!_

“’Ruby’?” I asked myself aloud. I stood up and glanced around before I heard the voice again, only this tine it was more questioning than calling out.

And then my curiosity took over and I began following the calls.

After a few seconds, the voice resounded through the trees once more. _“Ruuuuu-uuuby!”_

 _It sounds like I’m getting closer,_ I told myself. I crossed the bike path and took off running into the much more wild part of the forest, feeling my heartbeats coming faster and faster in excitement with every step. The trees kept thickening, but my steps kept quickening as I bolted on. I had never actually _met_ someone so desperate they were calling out like this… It seemed like I was about to embark on some great adventure, like I was at the beginning of a movie. Little did I know, I _was_ about to go on an adventure, just not in the way I had thought.

Then I heard a small yelp and the sounds of leaves shifting, a branch snapped…  I shot towards the source of the noise as the first few crystalline drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

“Hello?” I called, gingerly pushing aside a thornbush and stepping over it slowly, suddenly realizing that I really should be more careful around this part of the forest…

“Ow,” the voice I had been hearing muttered shortly.

With the clouds now pouring bucketfuls of water down at a time, I pushed aside a small tree and peered through the shrubbery.

My eyes widened with absolutely amazement as I saw her. Her hair, the veil, her dress… It was almost like she had been pulled from a storybook; she looked far too… _elegant_ to be meandering a forest like this, especially one so close to the suburb…

“Are you okay?” I asked, stepping around the tree and jogging over to her. She was stuck in the same kind of brambly plant I had managed to avoid – only this bush was much bigger.

She turned her head to the draping sleeve she had been trying to pry from the nettles and looked up at me.

I couldn’t help my concerned gasp at her expression. Tears were streaming down her face from wide, desolate eyes. “Are you okay?!” I yelped, kneeling next to her and trying to help free her arms.

“A little lost – “ She grunted softly and lifted her arm, the cloth around it finally free.

“That looks painful,” I told her, moving to her other arm.

“I’ve felt worse,” she replied in a voice to match her expression.

A branch snapped just as we pulled her other arm loose, and she winced as she fell deeper into the bush.

“Oh wow,” I muttered, reaching in cautiously for her hand. “Here.”

She clutched my arm, and we began pulling her up. I felt a shock of tension jolt through her as she braced her legs against the ground; she had to step through the rest of the branches to reach the ground.

After a bit of effort, we managed to get her onto her feet, and she caught her balance before we began pulling her long, _long_ dress out. I was holding the fabric with a delicate touch that was practically insane – I didn’t want to rip it….

When we finally got that free, she stood up straight and I took a second to really look her over.

Her skin had a pale, almost blue color, and the frown on her face looked like it had been there her entire lifetime. The sheer blue veil on her head was held out of her face by two clasps in her hair – ironically, they were yellow circles with outward-pointing triangles surrounding them; they looked like two tiny suns. And her almost entirely blue dress looked so Victorian – the sleeves fell over her arms and hung down in three elegant sections, her top had three yellow buttons down the middle, and her neck had a brooch and lace framing the bottom of her head. The skirt was so long, it trailed it trailed behind her for about a foot, and the hair under the veil –

“You’re hair’s still stuck!” I gasped, and she watched as I struggled to untangle it for a few moments before joining in. It was a pretty hopeless attempt, and I ended up having to grab the plant and having to bend and twist it until the stem snapped. Though my solution to _that_ problem left the issue of her walking around with thorns adorning her hair…

“Well, at least your hair’s free now,” I muttered, glancing at one of the thorns still entangled and hoping it doesn’t prick her when she walks. “Wow,” I breathed. I was completely envious of how long and dark it was – I had always wanted my hair to grow really long; _insanely_ long to most people…

“Thanks,” she told me, and I shifted my gaze to her face.

“Oh, you’re welcome. So, what exactly _happened_ to you?”

“I’m not really sure,” she replied in an almost monotone voice, wincing as she yanked a thorn from her hair.

“You said before that you were lost…”

“Yeah… Something tells me I’m not in – ow – Gloomsville anymore.”

“’Gloomsville’?” I replied, my head tilted as I reran the name in my head at least a dozen different ways. But one thing stayed the same: I loved the sound of it. “So, where’s that?”

“It’s – “ A clap of thunder broke her off, and she glanced towards the sky uneasily as lightning illuminated the world.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She turned to me and replied, “Being outside _probably_ isn’t a good idea…”

Suddenly I felt my mood skyrocket as an idea sparked in my mind. “Hey, we can stay dry at _my_ house if you want!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure! Come on, we’ve gotta get back to the road…” I took her hand and led her away from the thorns and onto the bicycle path.

“You don’t mind walking a little bit, do you?”

She shook her head.

“It’s not that far, just a few blocks… It’s really weird how close the forest is to the main road… This way.” We turned left when the road forked. “I hope my parents won’t mind letting you stay for awhile,” I muttered, suddenly almost dreading their reaction. I got over that one quickly as I slowed down a bit, remembering that her dress was pretty long, and I didn’t want her to trip – not everyone was as agile on these rocky paths as I was… “They shouldn’t have a problem with it… as long as… well, you’re lost, right?”

I turned as the path took another turn and we were now almost out of the trees. “Yes.”

“Then there’s no reason you can’t stay. Alright, we’re almost there,” I said as the sound of cars passing by slowly met our ears and the wet pavement met our eyes. “Just a few more steps, and we’ll be – “

I was forced to a halt. Just as we emerged from the trees, thunder cracked again, but this time the streak of lightning didn’t stay in the sky, it streaked straight to my companion.

 _“Whoa!”_ I yelped, jumping back with wide eyes and a tense tone. “What just - ? Oh my – Are you okay?!”

“Ow,” she said, blinking a few times.

“Are you okay?!” I asked, resuming my spot at her side, only this time I was almost too stunned to think.

“It’s happened before,” she replied, and I blinked in confused amazement at her; her entire body had been darkened by the bolt, her hair was completely singed, and there was a tiny flame at the end of her dress.

“What - ? _Before - ?_ How did you - ?!”

“It’s genetic,” she told me, pinching out the small flame with her fingers.

“How is getting struck by lightning _genetic?!”_

  
“The electricity’s drawn to the high lead content in our blood,” she replied simply.

I was completely appalled by her calm reaction. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, a little weirded out by how little the electricity seemed to affect her. “Doesn’t it at least _hurt?_ ”

“Yes, it’s not very pleasant… but I’ll be fine…”

“Are you sure you’re not just… numb or something? Cuz… being struck by lightning _kills_ people sometimes…”

“I’m sure.”

“You’re amazing,” I told her with a flat tone. “Good thing nobody pays attention when they’re driving, because you’d be all over the news media… Wow… I guess today just isn’t your lucky day…”

“It’s never my lucky day,” she told me, her tone as neutral as ever. “Things like this happen all the time…”

“Why? Are you a bad-luck magnet or something?”

“Pretty much,” she said with a shrug. “It’s another family quality. At least, that’s what my great, great, great, great grandmother’s cousin on my father’s side used to say. ”

“Oh…” I shifted, suddenly feeling sheepish. “Uh, sorry… ”

“It’s okay… You kind of get used to it after awhile…”

“I guess so… Maybe we’d better get back to the house…” And we started off again. Once we had turned off the parkway path and we walking along the sidewalk that ran parallel to the road, I couldn’t help saying, “Your family’s luck can’t be _that_ bad… I mean, there’s still family members left… right…?”

“A few…”

“Hey, your luck can’t be too bad; I’d say you’re a miracle worker!”

“Miracle? How…?”

“You just survived being _struck by lightning!_ That’s _amazing!_ ”

“Huh… I’ve never though of it that way…”

“Wow… I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that… How many other times in your life has that happened?”

“At least twice,” she replied.

“You’re so… I don’t know, casual about it…”

“Like I said, you get used to it.”

“So, what other kinds of things happen?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but she didn’t even get a single word out. A minivan went by going at least twenty miles over the speed limit, and it sped right through a puddle forming on the side of the road; the result was a six-feet high splash that threw rainwater over both of us.

“Maybe that wasn’t you,” I said, shaking my arms and picking a leaf out of my hair.

“It probably was,” she responded bluntly.

“Well, that water probably took some of the sting out of the electrocution, huh?”

“Not much…”

“Welll… Come on, we have some ice packs at home, and plenty of things you can rub on to help stop the pain…”

She sighed, her hair falling in front of her face, before we went on, silent until we turned up my home’s driveway.

“Alright, here we are,” I told her, hesitating for a second to brace myself against whatever came before I actually turned the doorknob.

I hesitated with my hand on the brass handle for half a moment, listening as our dog’s bark resounded through the house and waiting for the sound of my family members telling her to calm down.

I glanced at my travel companion for a second, realizing that there _was_ no shushing, and I knew something was going on – And then I realized that her desolate eyes suddenly seemed wider, and a bit nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your dog won’t attack me - ?”

“Oh no!” I reassured her immediately. “She’s really loud, but she’s actually extremely friendly once you get to know her. Trust me, the first thing she’ll do is drop her toy at your feet.”

“Toy?”

I smiled, and knowingly replied, “Trust me, you’ll see.” And then I pulled open the door.

Out of nowhere came the sound of children imitating monster noises and cat-like growls, and then I was pounced on like a mouse by my youngest siblings.

“Jessie, Jessie!” they squealed, wrapping their arms around my waist like the overzealous beings they were – unwittingly constricting my breathing and almost knocking me over with their sudden tackle; these two were getting bigger by the hour…

“Did we _scare_ you?” my little brother asked, and I chuckled. “You know better than to try to scare _me!_ ” I replied proudly.

“You’re _never_ scared!” my even younger sister added, crossing her arms and feigning frustration, but smiling playfully. I swear, the things these two pick up from TV… but she looked cute, I had to give her that.

“Nope.” I wrapped an arm around each of their waists, then I pretended to be suffocating. “Not that this isn’t fun and all, but breathing is nice too!”

They let me go – only to begin chasing each other around the driveway and pretending to tackle each other like a pair of kittens.

“Guys, come in, it’s raining!” Mother calling us in when it’s _raining,_ go figure – but I guess I’m lucky; _this_ particular mother’s tone was playful and not scolding – well, not _entirely_ scolding, at least.

“But that’s why I like it so much,” I called back cheerfully.

“Jessica’s home,” my oldest little sister’s voice was heard calling, and I glanced in the house through the doorway to see her facing the kitchen before she turned and resumed her perch at the computer.

“You had something to do with this stampede, _didn’t_ you?”

“Mayyyybe,” I replied playfully as my mother came around the corner and out of the kitchen. “So where’s Saundra?” she asked.

Usually my friend tried to stay at my house as long as possible, so naturally it seemed weird for her to leave before the door even opened.

I told her with a shrug, “They just dropped me off and left.” I never said they dropped me off _here._ Again with the loopholes…

 “Hey, who’s this?” She nodded towards the newcomer.

“I found her stuck in a thornbush in the forest, and she said she was lost, so… I helped her out and figured she could stay here until she found a way home,” I answered, my expression subtly pleading. I picked each and every word carefully, improvising and hoping to play on her naturally maternal side; when it came to children, my mother had at least a little sympathy for each and every one out there. And with this girl’s expression, who _wouldn’t_ feel sorry for her?

“Do you at least _know_ her?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Well, okay… I _suppose_ she can stay.” The hesitation in her voice was completely playful, that smile on her face was there to prove it. “Friends are always welcome here. So, what’s your name?”

I glanced over my shoulder as she answered, suddenly realizing that I hadn’t asked.

”Misery.”

“Really?” my mom asked.

I titled my head and blinked. “Huh… makes sense,” I muttered to myself with a shrug.

“Okay then. Well, Misery, you can stay here for a little while.” She turned to me for a split second, her expression reinforcing the “ _little_ while” part.

“Why is her name Misery?” my brother asked, his expression one of obvious confusion.

I thought for a moment and opened my mouth to reply, but my youngest sister cut me off.

“Because she’s miserable?” she offered with only a hint of uncertainty.

“Pretty much.” I glanced over my shoulder to the unfortunate one with a sympathetic smile.

“Go get her!” the oldest of my younger siblings suddenly called, and, having been locked up indoors since the clouds came out and at the age where energy is all too plentiful, my siblings ran up to Misery like a bolt of human lightning and gave her their own version of welcome.

Poor Misery wasn’t braced for anything like that to happen, and the force of their over-eager hug knocked her right off her feet.

My mood changed immediately when I heard her head hit the concrete.

The two on top jumped to their feet nervously, glancing at each other and giggling all of a sudden.

“Guys, what are you - ? Misery, are you okay?” I asked as I kneeled next to her and blinked.

She sat up, her expression completely blank and dazed, and she began singing in a weary and uneven voice, “London Bridge is falling down – “ And then she collapsed again.

My youngest sister, the more musical of the two, picked up where she left off and giggled again before my brother pretended to pounce on my sister, and they ran back inside the house.

“Oooh-kay…” By now I was completely used to their hyperactivity. I waved my hand in front of Misery’s face, and she managed to get herself up again.

This time I took her hand and helped her stand up straight. Though not for long; she tottered, and I barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground again.

“You’re really having a rough time today…”

“Nothing new,” she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

“Come on, let’s get you some ice.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder before we made a successful attempt at walking, and I led her into the living room. “Welcome to my home,” I said, almost laughing at exactly what kind of welcome it really was…

We passed through the dining room, and the computer, and turned right before making the daring move of entering our kitchen (who knows what kind of mold we have growing in that fridge), and I left Misery leaning against the counter and grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” Misery asked as she applied the pack and walked over to the sink, running cold water over her hand.

“Yeah, we have a couple in the bathroom over there.”

“How many?” She glanced across the living room, following my gaze.

“Two or three. Why?”

“If you really plan on letting me stay… you might want to stock up.”

I tilted my head, then shrugged. “Okay, makes sense, how many would you recommend?”

“Well…” She shifted the ice pack and I began leading us to the room. “I have 7,655 at home…”

“Uh…” Okay, how does someone respond to that? “Ummm… I can… see why…? Did you actually _count_  those?!”

She nodded. “And I know that if I have seven years of bad luck every time I cracked a mirror, I would have 30,660 days, and so far there have been 9,752 earthquakes in my family history, and – “

“How do you _remember_ all those numbers? It took me three years just to memorize the multiplication tables.” She just never ceased to surprise me. “Wait, that many earthquakes ‘so far’?”

“Last time I tried jumping rope, it ended in disaster.”

“Whoa…” Every little thing seemed dangerous to her; I couldn’t help wondering of it was even safe for her to have a snack… (And oh, would I find out tomorrow!) “You’re so calm about all of this… I’d probably be driven insane…”

“I try not to think too much about it,” she replied casually.


	2. Notes and Future Plot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story Notes from 2009-2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following is all short-hand plot-and-event related notes I wanted to see come to fruition. Unfortunately the moon has set on my muse for this story, and these notes and events will never be fully written in my hand. They would be surrendered to whoever decides they want to pick up the story. (With credit, of course! I'm serious about that. A brief mention and/or link is all I ask, really.)

Misery gets a rash from poison ivy; only notice it after we headed upstairs – she starts scratching at it when we’re in my room – maybe mention Malady?

Getting ready for bed, Misery says it isn’t quite as comfortable as her own bed, but it is nice.

I ask what her bed is like

She says it’s a bed of nails

I would have laughed but she didn’t seem to be joking. “Really?”

“Yeah, they say acupuncture is making a comeback.”

“Interesting. I guess I’d like to try it… Is it therapeutic?”

“It’s actually very relaxing.”

“I can believe it. There’s not much in the world I don’t believe.”

“Do you believe in monsters?”

“Sort of. Definitely not the jump-out-of-the-closet kind. Why, do you?”

“Well, I used to not believe in them, especially the Luna, but then I saw it, and – and now I guess I do.”

“Luna?”

“The Luna is supposed to be a monster that comes out only on nights of the blue moon, and supposedly eats people. But he was so little.” Her voice changed, it was higher now.

“He sounds cute!” I giggled.

“Maybe. I was too busy screaming to really look.”

I had to suppress a giggle at how classic that was.

Next day, mom makes cookies and we get Misery sugar-high – when she’s listing things, use that earthquake on December 16th, 1811 where parts of the Mississippi River flowed backwards

2nd day – After breakfast, Misery’s w/ me in the bathroom when I’m brushing my hair and the mirror cracks

My eyes widen but Misery just ignores it – I guess she’s so used to bad luck that seven more years can’t be that bad.

Back in my room, I turn my floor fan up as high as it’ll go, say we could really use a cold front in here…

Misery says she isn’t sure about that… Every time there’s been a cold front, at least with her father’s side of the family around, there’s always at least four inches of ice to scrape away by the time they’re gone.

“Huh…?”

She talks about Malady and Malaise, when they’re together they equal the next ice age if kept in one place for too long…

“That explains what happens back then,” I joked.

“Yeah… I don’t think that _whole_ Ice Age thing was our fault.”

“Wait, seriously - ?! I was joking!”

“Oh. Well, now you know,” she told me with a shrug.

We talk a bit in my room, Misery says something liking about family heirlooms and history.

“No way, me too!”

Later we go to Borders, Misery trips and knocks a shelf over, that shelf falls into the next and four end up spilling the books onto the ground from the domino effect, everyone staring

In Misery’s defense I call “Like you’ve never tripped before.” I try to push one of them up and the rest of the books, the ones that managed to hold their places during the fall, simply collapsed.

Later, walking home, I see an earthworm on the sidewalk. Misery says “At least it’s not a tapeworm.”

3rd day – I’m cooking soup and it catches fire; I yelp with wide eyes

Misery’s completely calm and says, “I’ll get some water…”

That night, I hear her singing in her sleep, wonder what it is, did I leave my radio on? I didn’t remember putting anything on…

Then I realize that it’s coming from right next to me. It was _Misery_ singing. I smile to myself... Her voice puts me back to sleep.

4th day

I truly believe Misery CAN sing when she’s awake! Maybe she actually woke up and kept the song going... or she had stage fright or something, which could explain why she couldn't sing when she was awake too, and hearing the sound of all those people cheering for her made her feel really good about it...

I ask if she likes music? She says yeah and asks me why – I grab my box as delicately as humanly possible

She asks what I have in there

I tell her CDs, and say something about how delicate they are and how much they mean to me, how many memories are attached to each one…

“Then perhaps I should – “ She turns to leave the room.

I get up and put a hand on her shoulder, “Why should you go?”

“Bad things happen when I’m around,” she replied with a shrug.

“Bad things happen anyways,” I told her gently, completely unfazed by her vivid streak of misfortune. “Now c’mere, I want to show you something.” I say I heard her sleep-singing last night and it was really beautiful, turn on my favorite music and get just a little emotional. Tell Misery I really love that song, there’s just something about it that just really hits me hard. Ask her if she liked it?

She says yes; the operatic vocals and the violins were pretty.

I tell her one of my favorite things about that band is the piano – so beautiful! That band was the final push I needed to actually play the piano – and I haven’t regretted lessons since!” Nod towards the keyboard in the corner

“You play the keyboard?”

“Yeah, all the time! Why?”

“I have a cousin who plays the keyboard…”

“Which one?”

“Morose.”

“How many cousins _do_ you have?” I asked playfully.

“A lot.”

I giggle, “Yeah, I kinda figured that out.”

I ask Misery if there are any songs that are really special to her, something that means a lot to her.

Misery looks away for a second thoughtfully – “Ummm… Well… There is _one_ …”

“Can I hear it?”

“Uh, sure…”

Misery sings Train Wreck

I smile, “Cool.” Comment encouragingly on her voice and the song. Ask why it’s special?

Misery tells me it’s because her friends wrote it for her when she first discovered the hidden talent and they helped her out when she was having a little trouble – then she bowed her head, suddenly seeming a little distracted and desolate.

I ask what’s wrong?

She tells me she just misses her friends, and her home, and (lists things of hers and things her friends do)

I tell her we can get her home, I’ll escort her if she wants!

she asks how I can do that, she doesn’t even know where she _is_

I think, glance outside – I ask if she’s ever looked at the stars before; the constellation Orion can be pretty helpful…

She shrugs, not really

I ask what about the moon, if she remembers which horizon it usually rises on when she’s facing a certain direction, or where it is during certain parts of the night

She says she kind of knows

I tell her “then we’ll use the moon as our compass.” – then I felt downcast myself

Misery asks what’s wrong; her tone genuinely concerned

I tell her I’m going to miss her

“Even with all the bad things that happen?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, you’re the only person I can actually feel comfortable around for more than an hour… I can’t see my best friends any more, the only two friends I actually spend time with on summer vacation… One is in California for the summer, and the other always has something going on with her family… I’m just really going to miss you, Misery…”

“My friend says to always look on the bright side…”

“What bright side?”

“Um… That’s not really my thing…and she also said that maybe you should look on the just barely enough light side.”

“There’s a just barely enough light side?”

“That’s what I said!”

I smile, it seemed like we had more and more in common every day. Yep, I was really going to miss her…

“But maybe it won’t have to _be_ a goodbye.”

“How?” I asked, suddenly intrigued.

She says maybe I can go with her

“Well… I dunno…”

“Why not?”

I’m unsure because I don’t know if I’ll fit in – I mean, I don’t mind being off on my own, but –

Misery says that if I don’t fit in, then that’s how she knows that I WILL fit in!

“Huh…?”

“We fit in because we don’t fit in.”

I smiled, and she actually smiled back.

We end up leaving, I tell mom we’re walking because she can’t get where she’s going by car, and we need the moon to see where we’re going, she seems more eager to let us go than usual since we’ll be together – I ask if I can spend the night there since we’ll be traveling by moonlight and I’ll probably be exhausted by the time I get there, mom consents – and off we go!

Exit the door and start down the driveway, looking for the moon – I slap my forehead “Wait, duh!”

“What’s wrong?”

“The next-door house blocks the horizon, we can only see the moon if we go to the backyard.”

Lead us around the house, “Let’s try this again…”

We look up.

\--

{ {{ 2019 note: The moon isn't doesn't rise and set on the same horizons the way the sun does! Some other way of navigating would probably be much more reliable. Unless using the past few nights in Gloomsville as a reference, then it might be more reliable. }} }

\--

Misery found the moon almost immediately.

“So? How’s that compared to where it usually is at Gloomsville?”

“Um, usually it’s all the way over there.” And she pointed to the totally opposite side of the sky.

“Oh… Well, we better get started.”

“Which way?”

“Well, if it’s usually over _there_ …” I pointed my finger to where Misery pointed as well. “…then we should head that way until the moon’s in the right place! And the forest is down there, so it makes sense… Onwards!”

And so we began our journey again – for real this time.

When we got off of my street, I ask her what I’ve been dying to ask since I found her: “Exactly how did you end up _here?_ ”

Misery says she isn’t sure… (Something about a wolf and then a fire)

On the way to Gloomsville, we try to find constellations

We see a shooting star – then we realize that it’s heading straight for us

We dive away and duck. It barely misses us; we could feel the heat, and had we been standing when it landed we would have been knocked right over by the miniature earthquake it caused when it hit the ground.

Once the comet’s sizzling ceased a bit, we sit up and look – a few trees are on fire and Misery’s hair is sticking up and the end of her dress is on fire

The sun starts rising, I ask her exactly how far she was from home, she says “Pretty far.”

We rest a little, nap, and go on

Misery starts humming – I recognize it as the song she sang before and ask her to teach it to me, she sings it and I repeat it two lines at a time, then we do a duet.

We get hungry and try finding something edible, then we rethink it and decide against it, neither of us speaking it but both knowing exactly why taking our chances [with fire] would be a bad idea. Or potentially poisonous mis-identified plants.

Sleep through that night…

Next day, Misery looks over the crest of a hill and gets excited (or at least energetic).

I see it and ask what’s going on?

She points it out and says “There’s Gloomsville!”

And then we run.

When we get there, Misery rings the doorbell and Ruby answers, Ruby calls “Misery’s back!” and everyone comes to welcome her home – they joke around with her about leaving them with the sun again (and we’re all out of secrets to tell!)... before asking about me.

Misery introduces me and I withdraw a bit, nod my greetings with my ceremonial sheepish “Hi” to each of her friends; it was my natural first-meeting instincts, though it didn’t take long for me to realize there was no need for caution

Iris says, “Aww, she’s shy!”

I perk up. “Not really, just not used to being welcomed by so many people all at once!” I corrected her with a smile.

Ruby says something about not having to worry, here we welcome the unwelcomed!

My smile widens as I glanced around and realized that Misery was right, I _would_ fit right in with this group.

And then a tour of the mansion…

I’m in absolute awe of their home – I had never even _seen_ a building this size in my life, and all of its elegant and Victorian décor was perfect; basically, this was my dream home.


End file.
